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Future of AV
MARCH 2022
Our Global Sales Director, Marc Waple discusses the future of the AV industry. Watch the video or read the summary below
Estimated Reading Time: Under 3 minutes
What do you see as being the biggest challenge for the AV industry in 2022?
Component shortages remain the biggest challenge thanks to the pandemic. An increasing number of manufacturers are acquiring broader suites of products to accommodate remote and hybrid working. This in turn, is resulting in more home computers and equipment being sold which is having an impact on the whole AV industry from a component availability point of view. Shipping also remains to be challenging however, there’s hope that it will resolve itself as we get into 2022.
How do you believe we can adapt to these challenges as a company and as an industry?
Smart manufacturers can’t just wait around for a solution, they must work around the problem. Smart redesigns of products are a necessity and is something that will become the new norm to enable more flexibility and enhancements in output.
"Smart manufacturers can’t just wait around for a solution, they must work around the problem"
What do you see as being an opportunity for the AV industry in 2022?
Key growth areas include the designs of interoperable smart TV’s that have the capability to hold sources that feed content versus traditionally set top boxes. Another area discussed was the prevalence of virtual assistance and how this needs to become the new norm. Finally, finding smarter ways to work with hybrid workers who require more and more AV and IP solutions.
How do you view AV over IP, game changer or a fad?
The consensus, definitely not a fad. The demands of clients are changing from a content distribution perspective. More and more source content to more and more displays is needed when we step out of the residential space into the commercial space e.g. when you’re moving towards 30, 40, 100 displays. With advances in smart TV technology, the leveraging of multiple sources built into the display needs to be thought about.
HDBaseT3 has been talked about for some time, do you think this will have an impact on fixed format matrices?
HDBaseT3 will form part of the HDBaseT evolution. This new generation will push for better quality video, zero compression and faster ethernet speeds especially for delivering Internet Protocol content which is going to be key.
8K, where are we at?
8K is definitely on the horizon. Here at Pulse-Eight, we’re certainly looking at future solutions. Currently, the only true 8K providers are within the gaming industry. Sony and Microsoft are making some great headway. However, it’s only once the mainstream content providers such as Apple TV and Amazon Fire Stick enable their products to display this type of content that 8K can start making its debut. Of course, none of that makes any difference until producers start even filming in 8K and that’s something that’s not happening as much as we’d all like to think!
With evolving technology comes evolving demands, how best can we adapt as an industry to these advances?
Education, education, education. Integrators, designers and architects all need training. There are already some great bodies out there such as CEDIA and AOS, but we as manufacturers need to take responsibility for training our customers on the products we’ve created to maximise their potential and, essentially, keep everyone involved happy.
Marc Waple
GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF SALES
Marc has over 20 years-experience working in the custom install AV industry. Marc is one our go-to experts with regards to both the residential and commercial space and is often described as the face of the Pulse-Eight brand.
In his spare time, you can find him paddle boarding or fixing up his VW Transporter, Betsy.
